'All hands on deck:' Police widen search for missing vulnerable man in North York

Police have widened their search for a missing man with Down Syndrome who hasn’t been since last week.

The 37-year-old man, whose first name is Nathan, disappeared from the Jane Street and Sheppard Avenue area last Friday.

On Tuesday police set up a command post outside a community centre on Grand Ravine Drive as they scoured the surrounding area for signs of Nathan.

That search was focused on a 300-metre area in every direction from the community centre but has now been expanded to include all areas within 500 metres of the community centre.

“Right now basically all hands are on deck,” Insp. Ryan Forde told reporters on Wednesday morning. “We are checking all backyards, laneways, cars and forested areas and we are actively everywhere looking for this man.”

Forde said that Nathan functions at the level of a seven-year-old and needs additional supports.

For that reason, he said that the level of concern for his wellbeing is “ramped up,” prompting a Level Three search of the North York neighbourhood where he was last seen.

That is the highest level of search for any missing person.

“We're going to use every available resource that we can at this point,” he said, noting that members of the mounted unit are also involved with the search.

Nathan is new to the Greater Toronto Area and previously lived in Kitchener-Waterloo area.

He is described as four-feet-six-inches tall and weighs approximately 170lbs. At the time of his disappearance, he had a full beard and moustache.